We have long heard it said that “not only must justice be done; it must also be seen to be done.” That’s a saying that the Alberta Utilities Commission would be wise to heed as it decides whether oral arguments will be permitted to be made into the public review of SNC Lavalin’s proposed $3.2-billion sale of its transmission line operator, AltaLink, to U.S. giant Berkshire Hathaway Energy.

AltaLink is a publicly funded fully regulated utility that is owned by a highly disreputable corporation: SNC-Lavalin. AltaLink also just happens to be Alberta’s largest electricity transmission company that controls 80 per cent of the electricity flow in Alberta.

CALGARY — The federal government has signed off on the controversial $3.2-billion sale of Alberta’s largest electricity transmission provider to a company owned by U.S. billionaire Warren Buffett. The approval, however, comes with a long list of conditions, including the guarantee that buyer Berkshire Hathaway Energy must reinvest every penny it earns from AltaLink in the company, the province or Canada, if it is allowed to complete the purchase from Quebec-based SNC Lavalin.

As the planned sale of Alberta’s largest electrical transmission company to an American firm comes under scrutiny from politicians and the public, the president of AltaLink remains confident the deal will win approval from provincial and federal reviews. The $3.2-billion sale of AltaLink by Quebec-based SNC Lavalin to Berkshire Hathaway Energy — owned by billionaire Warren Buffett — is attracting attention, from the hiring of lobbyists to full-page newspaper ads from ATCO warning about “serious consequences” if the deal goes ahead.

Investing in private companies has traditionally been available only to high net worth individuals (3% of our population) and entrepreneurs are required to take time away from building their business to